There are many benefits to having professional theatrical training. But there is one extraordinarily important aspect of being a performer that conservatories seem woefully inadequate in preparing. Business.
Traditional undergraduate conservatory training is heavy on performance. Four years of voice and speech coaching, dance, rhythm and movement, text analysis, acting, and the practical application of those elements in executing plays. But in four years at one of the most prestigious university drama programs in the US, I recall not one single business course for performers.
There were a handful of occasional one-day seminars from a casting agent, or a professional actor, but these were often filled with anecdotal curiousities about showbiz personalities and name dropping. There was never an intensive, purposeful, methodical, practical approach to marketing oneself as a brand or business. In truth, it was almost frowned upon as the focus seemed to be to break down the unique idiosyncracies of actors so they had a ‘blank slate’ from which to work. Then, upon graduation, it was a general audition for some casting agencies and off you go to sink or swim.
Nothing about money management, business planning, marketing development, and so on. What about coming out of school having taken an actual auditioning class for on-camera? What about having an actual working demo for voiceover? What about coming out knowing what your particular brand is that you can be known for? Or a personal website for generating business? What about issues regarding taxes and deductible expenses? Union, non-union, or fi-core? What about developing a business plan and knowing the steps to achieving that plan? Most actors I know are forced to survive on sheer talent alone and have to discover the rest along the way, much of it gleaned from other talent who are muddling through themselves.
This is an incredible disservice done to people who already have a mountain to climb as they attempt to carve out a niche for themselves in an overcrowded market just so they can make a living at what they love.
If you are considering a performance education, make sure that a good business training is a part of it. Many performers look down on business as if it is a dirty subject, but this is the difference between success and failure. It’s not the glamorous part of the work, but it is indispensible, because the predominant work of acting is getting the work. And that’s not something you can rely on an agent alone to do for you, because they serve other performers just like you. Many actors would prefer to take another acting class than spend the necessary time on the business aspect of performance. You can’t afford it. You are a business first. The world is filled with talented, promising businesses that fail without a plan. You don’t want to be one of them.
